The Federal Government has introduced stricter controls on public procurement, directing all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to stop processing upward reviews of contract sums without first obtaining clearance from the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP).
The move, announced on Sunday, is part of new guidelines aimed at curbing contract inflation, abuse of variation orders and corruption in Nigeria’s procurement system.
In a statement signed by the BPP’s Head of Press and Public Relations, Zira Nagga, the Bureau said all requests for contract variations, fluctuation claims and scope adjustments must now be submitted to the agency for review and certification before any approval can be granted.
The directive was issued under Sections 5(a) and (o) of the Public Procurement Act 2007 and follows a Federal Executive Council policy approved in December 2025.
Under the new framework, no contract variation can proceed without a BPP Certificate of No Objection, which will remain valid for six months. Any variation processed without the certificate will attract sanctions, including suspension of responsible officials and possible debarment of contractors involved.
Speaking on the development, BPP Director-General, Adebowale Adedokun, said the reforms are meant to prevent contract variations from becoming a tool for unnecessary cost escalation.
“Variations must not become a backdoor for cost inflation and scope creep. These guidelines are to ensure that every adjustment is justified, necessary and delivers value to Nigerians,” he stated.
The new rules clearly define acceptable and unacceptable grounds for contract variation.
According to the Bureau, legitimate reasons include unforeseen site conditions, errors in design or bills of quantities, changes in government regulations after contract signing, major economic shocks affecting prices, force majeure situations and engineering improvements that reduce cost without altering the project scope.
However, variations resulting from poor planning, avoidable design mistakes or the addition of entirely new components outside the original contract scope will no longer be approved. Such additions must now be treated as fresh contracts and subjected to a separate procurement process.
The guidelines also introduce tougher measures against inflated fluctuation claims. Contractors found to have deliberately slowed down projects in order to increase claims arising from changes in labour, materials or exchange rates risk losing such claims and may even face blacklisting if the claims are discovered to be false or exaggerated.
Approval thresholds have also been revised. Variations involving N10bn and above will require Federal Executive Council approval, while those between N5bn and N10bn will go through the Ministerial Tenders Board.
Projects with variations between N75m and N5bn will be handled by the Parastatal Tenders Board, while lower amounts can be approved by accounting officers.
Read Also:
UNICEF, Imo Government Partner to Boost Maternal and Child Nutrition
The same structure applies to procurement involving goods and services.
To reduce avoidable variations from the beginning, the BPP also directed MDAs to use only approved final engineering designs before awarding contracts. It warned that the use of incomplete or defective designs that later lead to unnecessary cost increases would attract sanctions.
As part of the transparency measures, all MDAs must now publish details of approved contract variations on their websites and the BPP portal within 30 days of approval. Information to be disclosed includes the contractor’s name, original contract amount, additional cost, revised contract sum and reasons for the increase.
The Bureau added that it would periodically submit reports to the Federal Executive Council on all reviewed and approved contract variations across government institutions.
The new guidelines take immediate effect and apply to all ongoing public projects, regardless of when the original contracts were awarded.
